


Delirium

by knave_of_swords



Category: Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: Angst, Daddy Issues, F/M, Ficlet, Mistaken Identity, Parent/Child Incest, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29541081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knave_of_swords/pseuds/knave_of_swords
Summary: Ced visits his sick mother's room one afternoon, and she mistakes him for Lewyn.
Relationships: Ferry | Erinys/Levn | Lewyn, Sety | Ced/Ferry | Erinys
Kudos: 9





	Delirium

"Lewyn? Lewyn, is that you?" His mother sits up in bed when Ced opens the door to her room, her eyes shining as she looks at him. His heart drops. Mother's condition has been worsening, but he never expected it to affect her mind like this.

"No, Ma," he says. "It's Ced."

His mother laughs.

"Oh, Lewyn, you always know how to make me smile. Come here." She lifts her arms towards him, as if to embrace him from across the room. Ced walks to her side and hesitantly sits on the bed. He doesn't have it in his heart to try and correct her again. She looks happier than he had seen her in months, since before she even got sick. Shattering her illusion feels too cruel, like breaking her heart.

"I can't stay long," he says. He can fake this for a little while, for a few minutes while she's delirious from her illness.

"I know," she says, and caresses his cheek. "No cage can hold the wind. But I'm glad you're here." Her hand goes to the back of his head and she pulls him towards her, and before Ced realizes her intentions, she kisses him. He freezes, not moving a muscle, but something inside him lights up anyways. His heart pounds between his ears and he can feel his pulse between his legs. She must notice his reaction because she pulls away, and she must realize now that he isn't his father now, oh gods--

"Did you think I would be angry with you?" she says softly. "That you didn't deserve my love after all this time?"

Ced says nothing, still frozen in place. His lips tingle, as though his mother's lips still press against them.

"It's alright, Lewyn," she says. "The wind called you to do greater things. I'm satisfied with the time we got together. And I'm so happy I got to see you before I go."

"Don't talk like that," Ced says, snapping back to his senses. He hates it when she talks like she's going to die. "You have plenty of life left in you." 

She pulls him close to her and kisses him again, and this time Ced doesn't freeze. He lets his lips soften against his mother's, lets himself kiss her lightly back. He tells himself he can't break his mother's heart by refusing. He tells himself he doesn't want it. He knows that that's a lie.

When his mother pulls away, she just sadly smiles at him, and Ced feels like he's been punched in the gut. She really does think that she's going to die. He stands up abruptly.

"I have to go," he says. Mother's expression doesn't change. She squeezes his hand. 

"Try to see Ced and Fee before you go." His gut twists. "I know you can't speak to them, but you should see how much they've grown. Ced looks just like you."

"I--" Ced stutters. He can't take this much longer. He strides across the room to the door. "I love you." 

"I love you too," his mother says, and her voice sounds so delicate, so soft, in a way that Ced had once thought impossible for her to ever be. Something inside him flares, and he speaks again on a sudden impulse.

"I'll see you again," he promises without thinking. "I'll come back for good."

"If Forseti wills it," is all she says in reply.

She's too good for him, Ced thinks bitterly as he exits the room, but she still needs his father. Silesse needs its king. And maybe Ced needs his father too, as loathe as he is to admit it. There's only one thing he can do-- he must go find his father, for everyone's sake.

This isn't the first time he's thought about finding his father before. It would be an arduous task-- Lewyn could be anywhere in Jugdral, or maybe even beyond. But it has to be done. Somebody has to find him. And if Ced has to drag him back to Silesse kicking and screaming, then he would do it. He could do it, too, with the power of the Forseti tome. Mother had hidden it away-- to keep it safe until Father came back, she had said at the time-- but Ced knows he'll be able to find it. Nobody would question him taking it, either. 

The memory of his mother's lips pressed against his twists his gut. She deserves more than a lie, more than her son as a poor subsitute of her husband. 

Ced squares his shoulders. He's going to find Father. He's going to find him, and bring him back. He owes it to his mother, to Silesse. He's not running away, he tells himself. Running away is what his father does, and he is not his father. He will not be his father. He'll set off on his journey tomorrow morning. The sooner he brings Father back, the better.

**Author's Note:**

> yeah erinys knows about lewyn's whole forseti thing


End file.
